A finger on the art pulse

Adam Bryce. Photo / Babiche Martens

Adam Bryce is a man of many talents. The Aucklander launched influential street culture website Slamxhype.com almost six years ago, local creative blog portal The Wire last year, and new independent magazine The New Order earlier this month. The quarterly publication, of which Bryce acts as publisher and creative director, features contributors from around the globe, and the debut issue covers high profile fashion and art stories and brands including Comme des Garcons, Band of Outsiders, Richard Prince and Jose Parla. Bryce is also the curator and face behind new gallery space Plaything, situated in the burgeoning creative area of Newton.

"The goal of the space is to enable the ability to bring high profile artists from overseas and mix them with talented New Zealand artists. We [the team] have the contacts, and were already curating high profile shows overseas, so figured we might as well do it here," says Bryce, who is heavily influenced by street culture. He says Plaything already has some high-profile international artists lined up for this year, including Takahashi Murakami, Anthony Lister and Geoff McFetridge.

"The space is not solely a gallery though, it's truly an amazing space and we plan to take advantage of that. We have some other exciting projects lined up too," says Bryce, a champion of independent ventures. He says it's more important for creatives to have drive and passion than corporate money behind them. "What's important now is that people support independent ventures, not because they need support, but because they deserve it."

Ten favourite things

1 Futura painting circa '82

I see this era and movement in contemporary art as the most important, a time when the downtown NYC art scene embraced the streets, and brought the likes of Basquiat, Futura and others to their fine art galleries. All to spit them back out at the end of the tunnel. The impact these artists had will forever live on.

2 Bespoke Rolex Submariner

English watch company Bamford & Sons offer a service allowing you to custom-build your own Rolex. Pick the colour of the bracelet, face, dial, use different materials and genuinely make your own Swiss masterpiece. The best 20 odd grand you'll ever spend!

3 W)Taps A-2 leather jacket

A good friend of mine has this rule; he says every guy should have a good M-65 jacket in their wardrobe. The problem with that is every guy has a good M-65 jacket in their wardrobe. He's right though, we should all own a good military jacket; my choice is a WW2 inspired Airforce Jacket, the A-2. I have a few, but my W)Taps one is definitely my favourite.

4 Leica D-LUX digital camera and case

I have a bunch of cameras but this is the one that gets dragged around day in, day out. It has all the goodness of a high-end Leica but portable and easy to use. Not to mention the best case you'll ever find.

5 Cheese and herb scones from Jones the Grocer

I live pretty much across the road from Jones the Grocer in Newmarket, so getting one of their amazing cheese scones has become easier than going to the supermarket, especially come deadline crunch time!

6 Stephen Sprouse Louis Vuitton book

Stephen Sprouse, similar to Rick Owens today, was probably the most influential but underrated of the artists and designers of his era. Louis Vuitton's massive campaign this season, seeing re-releases of Sprouse designed LV products, also saw the release of this amazing book, documenting the artist's life!

7 Visvim boots

The best shoe company in the world, if not the best fashion company, full stop. Japanese-made boots, made up of the finest kangaroo leather. Reminiscent of traditional Red Wings workboots, only better!

8 Eames lounge chair

It's not exactly original for me to list this chair, everyone either wants one or has one. I want one, which means till the day I get one, it stays on this list! Probably the most iconic piece of furniture in modern design. Frasier had one. Must be cool!

9 Levi's Fenom denim jacket

Levi's Fenom range is an exclusive range of jeans and other products designed by the godfather of street fashion, Hiroshi Fujiwara. It's sold exclusively throughout Japan, the range is always well thought out and manufactured. This jacket is my favourite piece over the last few years!

10 Jose Parla

It's hard for me to add an artist to this list, but if there was one, today at least, it has to be Jose Parla. His amazing stroke skills are unmatched, as are his resourcefulness and inventiveness among working artists today.